HEO Policy Advisors (AI Policy)

The responsibilities for the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology for 2023 are as follows: 

• Positioning the UK at the forefront of global scientific and technological advancement
• Driving innovations that change lives and sustain economic growth
• Delivering talent programmes, physical and digital infrastructure and regulation to support our economy, security and public services
• R&D funding 

For 2023, our priorities are: 

• Optimise public R&D investment to support areas of relative UK strength and increase the level of private R&D to make our economy the most innovative in the world.
• Promote a diverse research and innovation system that connects discovery to new companies, growth and jobs – including by delivering world-class physical and digital infrastructure (such as gigabit broadband), making the UK the best place to start and grow a technology business and developing and attracting top talent.
• Put our public services – including the NHS and schools – at the forefront of innovation, championing new ways of working and the development of in-house STEM capability to improve outcomes for people.
• Strengthen international collaboration on science and technology in line with the Integrated Review, and ensure our researchers are able to continue to work with leading scientists in Europe and around the world.
• Deliver key legislative and regulatory reforms to drive competition and promote innovation, including the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill and our pro-innovation approach to regulating AI.
• Pass the remaining stages of the reformed Online Safety Bill to keep British people, especially children, safe online. 

Our Inclusive Environment 

We are building an inclusive culture to make the Department a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.  

We offer first-class flexible working benefits, excellent employee well-being support and a great pension. We are fortunate to have a range of excellent staff networks and are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive. 

We actively welcome applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion. We will fully support candidates with a disability or long-term condition who require adjustments in our recruitment process. 

Find Out More 

We regularly run events where you can find out more about the department and tips for the application process. You can sign up for upcoming events here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/departmentforsciencetechnologyandinnovation? 

You can also follow our LinkedIn Careers Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dsitcareers/  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is bringing about huge changes to society, and it is our job as a team to work out how Government should respond. It’s a once-in-a-generation moment, and an incredibly fast-paced and exciting environment.

Building on the platform created by the AI Safety Summit hosted by the UK this November, the AI Policy directorate will continue to play a leading role in providing strategic direction across Government and industry to establish the most trusted and pro-innovation system for AI governance in the world, ensure UK institutions and infrastructure have the necessary capabilities to maintain our strategic advantage, and drive forward our ambitious objectives home and abroad.

It’s also a crucial time for DSIT, which is bringing together the five technologies of tomorrow – AI, Quantum, Engineering Biology, Semiconductors, Future Telecoms under one department for the first time. Our aim is to drive innovation that delivers improved public services, create new better-paid jobs and grow the economy.

We are looking for a cohort of high-performing HEOs to support delivery of key workstreams across all four Deputy-Director teams in the Directorate. To be successful in any of these roles, you will need to be a strong communicator, excellent problem solver and confident working in a fast-paced environment. You will be expected to quickly develop a strong technical understanding of generative AI policy and build effective relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders. As an emerging policy area, you will need to be comfortable working in a dynamic policy context, remaining resilient and adaptable in support of the most urgent priorities.

We are a fun, vibrant Directorate committed to supporting our staff’s development and wellbeing, as well as delivering excellent work. We are especially keen to bring in new team members who will contribute to our friendly and inclusive Directorate culture.

We welcome applications from individuals of all personal and professional backgrounds to play a key role in one of societies greatest changes.

Key Responsibilities

Regulation

The Regulation division is responsible for how we design, deliver and iterate a regulatory framework for AI. In March this year we published a White Paper consultation to seek views on the government’s proposed regulatory approach. Since then, we have been analysing the responses to the consultation, iterating our approach through new policy development, and taking quick steps to implement the framework through existing expert regulators. But there is still more to do – due to the fast-paced development of the technology, we need to ensure our framework remains fit for purpose and our regulatory regime continues to promote both innovation and safety. In this team, you could be working on projects such as:
– Arranging workshops on the implementation of different elements of our regulatory framework;
– Designing guidance and other cross-cutting support for regulators;
– Analysing regulator powers and capabilities to deliver the regulatory framework;
– Designing and delivering stakeholder engagement approaches that ensure we hear from a wide range of voices, including Parliamentary engagement plans for AI regulation; and
– Supporting the design and delivery of a central regulatory coordination function

UK Capability

The UK Capability team oversees policy to build a thriving UK AI ecosystem. We are a fast-paced team working in a rapidly changing industry where the UK has a real opportunity to build a strategic advantage and contribute towards overall UK economic productivity. In this team, you could be working on projects such as:
– Strengthening the UK’s AI capability by analysing the AI ecosystem / supply chain and assess its strengths;
– Supporting the design and implementation of specific interventions to support the UK’s AI capability. Key areas of focus include compute, Research & Development, skills and intellectual property;
– Supporting the development of business cases and wider engagement with HM Treasury; and
– The roles will include significant stakeholder engagement across industry, other government departments and the research landscape.

Central AI Risk Function (CAIRF)

AI risks are owned by a range of departments across government and impact across various aspects of industry and wider society. The role of the Central AI Risk Function (CAIRF) is to identify, assess and report on these risks to ensure risk-owning departments have access to AI expertise, cross-risk analysis and an avenue to feedback issues. We also serve as the bridge to other departments and regulators, ensuring that the whole of government is aligned in our AI risk mitigation efforts. In this team, you could be working on projects such as:
– Producing high-quality products, engaging with experts from other government departments, academia and civil society;
– Establishing and maintaining communication channels for AI risk reporting to National Security Council committees and risk owning departments;
– Conducting in-depth analyses to understand and measure the impact and likelihood of various AI risks;
– Develop a mechanistic understanding of how risks arise and may manifest, and the relationships and dynamics between them; and
– Supporting policy teams to identify new mitigations for AI risks to understand why proposed policies will or won’t be effective at reducing risk.

Strategy and Engagement

The Strategy and Engagement team provides coordination and strategic direction for the whole AI Policy directorate. The AI Briefing Hub drafts and coordinates important and timely briefings, intelligence sharing, information and data, and parliamentary requests to a range of stakeholders, including the Secretary of State, Cabinet Office, No.10, and others. Products we deliver and support on are exciting and varied, and involve communication with senior stakeholders as AI is a government priority on the frontier of technological development. This team is responsible for handling: correspondence cases, Freedom of Information requests, parliamentary questions and briefings for ministers and Senior Civil Servants.

We also organise and coordinate engagement with both industry and other government departments and use other levers and evidence to ensure the government is aligned with, and delivering against the country’s National AI Strategy and the Science and Technology Framework. In this team, you could be working on projects such as:
– Building, managing, and utilising a stakeholder engagement tracker to deliver ministerial directives including briefings, comms, strategy, and policy; 
– Conducting research and analysis to identify policy, project, and funding gaps in the government’s growing portfolio in AI and produce advice and proposals accordingly;
– Building an effective network across government with key AI teams and communicating onwards complex needs and situations; and
– Providing advice to external teams on the landscape of AI and triage and coordinate policy conversations for others.

International

After the success of the AI Safety Summit, the International team will be responsible for continuing the momentum of this initiative with future hosts, and for leading the UK’s broader international AI policy and strategy. This rapidly growing team is working on some of the most high-profile questions facing our AI agenda, such as how we work with international partners and influence the future international AI landscape. In this team you could be working on projects such as:
– Supporting the UK’s engagement and negotiations, and where appropriate representing the UK, at international AI fora and initiatives such as the UN, G7, OECD, Council of Europe and Global Partnership on AI;
– Coordinating UK input and support to upcoming AI Safety Summits hosted by the Republic of Korea and France;
– Shaping policy thinking, particularly with regards to international research, monitoring, governance and international architecture; and
– Working with stakeholders such as international partners, the AI ecosystem, academia and civil society organisations to ensure our work reflects a wide range of views from across the world.

Desirable skills
– Experience working on complex and high-profile issues.
– An understanding of generative AI and wider technology policy.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an average employer contribution of 27%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.

Job contact :

• Name : Christina Kerr
• Email : christina.kerr2@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dsitresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk